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Google's Self-Driving Cars Now Know When To Honk (engadget.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the road-rage dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: Google's self-driving cars are not only getting smarter by the day, but they're also getting a little bit more polite. According to the project's latest monthly report, the self-driving car team has recently been teaching the car's AI when and how to honk the horn and give the human drivers on the road a helpful heads up. In order to train its honking algorithm, the team tested a variety of honk-worthy situations, like a car backing out of a blind driveway or a car headed the wrong way down a one-way street. At first, the car would play a little honk sound inside the vehicle so engineers could record whether there was a legitimate need for a honk and provide teaching feedback. Once they felt the AI was ready, they let it blare its horn to the world. The report goes on to say Google has "sound-designed the self-driving car's 'hum' so pedestrians and cyclists around the car can hear it coming." The sound increases when the car speeds up, and decreases when the car slows down.

6 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. They could do better by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only honking is not enough

    Since Google's self driving car are running on computers and computer can differentiate different dangerous situations Google should make their cars 'talk' --- like "Watch out, I'm on your left lane!" or 'get the fuck out of my lane, asshole!', or something like that!

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:They could do better by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey, I'm drivin' here!

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:They could do better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The car disproportionately honks at women too.

      This is clearly sexist manhonking as a result of the deeply engrained brogramming culture at Google.

  2. Finally a car feature worth hacking by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 4, Funny

    if (location - evilcorpHQ < 100) {
        horn.honk(5000);
    }

    if (location - tinderuser.closest < 50) {
        horn.honk(50);
        horn.honk(50);
    }

  3. Re:Self-Driving Car Baiting by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Do the Google Self Driving cars know when to give "the finger"?

    That usually come shortly after the horn honk...but had to be timed just right....

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  4. Pretty girls by 110010001000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    How do they know if a girl is worth honking at? Can they detect pretty girls?